Randomly

How to spell randomly

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce randomly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does randomly mean?

1. adverbIn a way that lacks any pattern, plan, or predictable order; by chance.

Randomly in a sentence

• The software picks a winner randomly from the list of entrants.

• Inspectors arrive randomly so that no factory can prepare in advance.

Where does randomly come from?

Language of origin: French

The base word random reached English in the 1300s from the Old French randon, which meant a sudden rush or great speed, itself drawn from the verb randir, 'to run fast' or 'to gallop'. For its first few centuries in English the phrase 'at random' literally described doing something at full tilt or headlong, with no thought of where you might end up. From that idea of an uncontrolled rush the modern sense developed: acting without a plan, pattern, or purpose. The adverb randomly simply adds the native Germanic ending -ly, meaning 'in the manner of', to the adjective random. The spelling trap is mostly the quiet middle: writers sometimes drop the -dom- or hesitate over the single m, so it helps to remember random sitting whole inside the word with -ly tacked on.

How the word is built

• rand- (from Old French randon: a headlong rush)
• -om (noun-forming element)
• -ly (adverb suffix)